SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Facing its biggest challenge of the season -- for the second night in a row -- the Winona State University men's basketball team came through it unscathed Thursday night.

The Warriors beat another No. 1-ranked and undefeated team in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and their reward is a spot in the national championship game for a third consecutive season.

Winona State once again battled back from a halftime deficit and pulled away late for an 86-75 victory over Bentley (Mass.) in front of a crowd of 4,019 fans at MassMutual Center.

Bentley and Grand Valley State, which the Warriors beat 67-54 in Wednesday's first-round matchup, shared the nation's No. 1 ranking and entered the Elite Eight with perfect records.

"We knew what we were getting into, but we were confident we were just as good," said Warriors center John Smith, part of last year's team that went unbeaten until losing to Barton (N.C.) in the title game. "We've been there, too. Both those teams were great, but we played better both nights."

The Warriors (37-1) will face Augusta State (Ga.) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the championship game, which will be televised live on CBS. The Jaguars (27-6) beat Alaska-Anchorage 56-50 in the other semifinal.

WSU is the first team since Kentucky Wesleyan from 2001 through 2003 to reach the championship game three seasons in a row. The Warriors, who won the 2006 national title, will have a chance to avenge last year's heartbreaking loss to Barton, which erased a seven-point deficit in the final 45 seconds to steal the victory and the state championship from the Warriors.

"That was definitely a motivation, but it's more of a motivation for us to finish games," said Winona State senior Jonte Flowers, a former Madison La Follette athlete who had 20 points. "Last year we kind of let that slip out of our hands and this year it's all about finishing games.

"We get down and we dig deep and try to keep it together. We've played together a long time and have a lot of experience. We know how to finish games."

The Warriors trailed 36-30 at halftime against Bentley, a team they beat last season in the first round of the Elite Eight. The Falcons (34-1) put together a 16-4 run early in the first half to take a 16-9 lead.

Attacking the basket and doing things few teams have done this season against WSU, Bentley pushed its lead to 34-25 with 2:59 left in the half. The Warriors crawled back into it by halftime on a 3-pointer by Smith and a pair of free thows by Quincy Henderson, another former Madison La Follette player who had 17 points and nine rebounds.

"They did a great job taking the ball to the basket and they were breaking us down. We had a tough time with that in the first half," said WSU coach Mike Leaf, whose team established a DII record with its 37th win. "We were fortunate to win against a team that I really admire. It's a heck of a streak they've had."

Bentley is 66-2 the past two seasons, the only two losses come to the Warriors. Earlier this season, the Falcons established a Division II record with 54 consecutive regular-season wins.

"We have a very good team," Bentley coach Jay Lawson said. "We have a team good enough to win a national championship. They (Winona State) deserve a tremendous amount of credit. They didn't beat slouches tonight."

WSU grabbed its first lead of the second half on a runner by Flowers with 13:54 to play. The teams traded leads until Bentley pushed its lead back to 54-50. David Johnson hit a 3-pointer that started a started a 9-0 run that gave the Warriors a 59-54 lead.

Henderson hit a 3-pointer and David completed an acrobatic three-point play  on a rebound and follow for the five-point advantage. Bentley got only as close as two points with two points the rest of the game.